Chapter 20 - Ageless Immortal
Xu Ying felt inexplicably excited. He thought, As a Qi Cultivator, it only makes sense to control my mystical power. Gods turn Their mystical power into flying swords. When They move that power, They control those swords.
I can do the same with my primordial qi. When my qi flows out, it can turn into an elephant king’s divine avatar. Naturally, it can also turn into a flying sword!
Filled with enthusiasm, he tried shaping his primordial qi into a flying sword. He failed several times.
Xu Ying was not discouraged and continued trying. However, the sword's form differed from the elephant king’s divine avatar. The avatar followed a fixed circulation path from a cultivation technique. A sword had no such constraints. Xu Ying had to shape his primordial qi entirely on his own. Consequently, the difficulty rose sharply.
Perhaps I can try manipulating a willow branch first.
A thought flickered through his mind. Immediately, he tried to pour primordial qi into the willow branch and use his divine sense to control it, then slowly loosened his grip.
The willow branch wobbled and floated.
Xu Ying was overjoyed. With a thought, the branch drifted through the air, unsteady but responsive.
Yuanqi was stunned. “He actually did it... What did I say that inspired him? If I can inspire him, I can inspire myself!”
Confidence surged within him.
Who is this Xu guy? Just a junior I guided. If he can do it, so can I!
Xu Ying manipulated the willow branch to execute the sword techniques he had comprehended earlier. The branch was too light, making it difficult to execute the moves. Even a slight shift in focus broke the form.
Clumsily manipulating the branch, he kept trying to execute the sword techniques. Again and again, he adjusted his control over will, divine sense, and primordial qi. His movements rapidly grew steadier.
Soon, he mastered the Sword Kinesis Technique. Controlling the branch, he executed the various basic sword moves.
Meanwhile, Yuanqi still couldn’t figure out what inspired Xu Ying. Seeing him already executing sword techniques decently, Yuanqi felt aggrieved. What’s the point of me having a brain?
The branch flew over and hovered half a chi above Xu Ying’s shoulder, moving in sync with him. Wherever he walked, the willow branch followed.
Xu Ying furrowed his brow slightly, thinking, I can use the Sword Kinesis Technique like it’s my arm. But can I release sword qi or sword aura as if I were holding it?
Seeing Xu Ying pondering, obviously stumped by a problem, Yuanqi chuckled. “Ah Ying, I heard smart people grasp new ideas through what they already know— “
Xu Ying’s eyes lit up. He clapped his hands and said, “You’re so right! Thanks for the tip. I finally get it!”
“I’m not done speaking... forget it. As long as you’re happy.”
Xu Ying was inexplicably excited. While executing sword techniques with the willow branch, he said rapidly, “Grasping new concepts by existing knowledge! I’m using my divine sense to control the primordial qi within the willow branch. My divine sense is equivalent to my arm.
“When I am holding the willow branch, my primordial qi enters it through my arm, allowing me to unleash sword qi. So, I can channel primordial qi endlessly into the branch through my divine sense and unleash sword qi and sword aura!”
The willow branch flew quickly around Xu Ying and Yuanqi. A sharp hiss cut the air. An invisible strand of sword qi shot from its tip.
Yuanqi hurriedly pulled his tail in. The sword qi grazed past his tail. The invisible sword qi split a boulder open, sending a wisp of dust and smoke drifting up.
Xu Ying controlled the branch, moving it back and forth. Sword qi swept out from the tip of the willow branch with an unstoppable force. With a single flash, it sliced clean through a massive tree’s crown.
The crown flew into the air with a whoosh, flying about a dozen paces before falling to the ground.
Yuanqi was terrified. The tree crown weighed more than ten thousand jin, yet Xu Ying had sent it flying with a single strike. One could imagine the immense power contained within! It could rival the incense flying swords of the gods.
Xu Ying withdrew the willow branch. Overcome with joy, he laughed out loud. “Xiao Qi, without your guidance, I couldn’t have grasped the Sword Kinesis Technique so quickly!”
Yuanqi mustered his courage and said, “It proves reading is useful. Erm, Ah Ying... Since my guidance helped you learn it, can you teach it to me?”
Xu Ying nodded repeatedly. “Of course. It’s very simple.”
After trying to learn for some time, doubt crept up in Yuanqi’s mind. Very simple? Are you bluffing me?
He tried again and again, but not once did he manage to make the willow branch float.
Xu Ying had no choice but to leave him aside. He continued studying the Sword Kinesis Technique. Then, he thought of an idea. Using the divine sense and primordial qi, I can make the willow branch fly, yet my divine sense doesn’t bear the weight of the willow branch. So, can I step on a willow branch and take flight?
He immediately put his idea to the test. His divine sense stirred, and the willow branch rose into the air.
Xu Ying kicked off the ground and landed on it. The branch snapped and dropped.
He tried it again. Like before, the willow branch couldn’t bear his weight and fell. A third time. The branch still failed to bear his weight.
Yuanqi suddenly sped ahead, crying out excitedly, “Ah Ying, we’ve arrived at Mount Wu Wang! Come, quick! This is my home. Three generations of my Niu family have lived here at Mount Wu Wang!
“To the north are the Water Entrance and Emperor Shun temples, to the west is the Yilin Monastery, to the south is Mount Xiao, and to the east is Niaotangpu Village.”
“Our mountain has an abundance of wild fruits. Whenever leaves turn yellow in autumn, transformed mountain demons pick ripe wild fruits and trade them in the market to barter for rice and flour.”
He rushed up Mount Wu Wang. Pointing to the west, he said with a smile, “Look, the Yilin Monastery is over there. Its abbot is the demon god, Gentleman Bai... huh? Where’s the Yilin Monastery?”
Yuanqi stood frozen, then cried out in panic, “No, this isn’t right! Where did that huge Yilin Monastery go? And the Water Entrance Temple! Where did it go? What about Niaotangpu Village? That big village...”
He looked around, confusion overtaking him. “Is this still Mount Wu Wang...”
Everything around Mount Wu Wang had once been familiar; now, towering peaks rose on all sides, as if carved by blades and split by axes. A wide river passed through the mountains, and in the distance, a vast lake stretched out like the sea, magnificent and turbulent.
The only thing that was still familiar to him was Mount Wu Wang.
Suddenly, the earth shook, and the mountains swayed. Along with the rumblings, Mount Wu Wang grew higher. Its massive body emerged from the ground, rising higher and higher.
A sheer cliff rose where Yuanqi stood, pushing out from the mountainside before his eyes.
Moments later, that cliff grew about a thousand zhang. Massive boulders broke loose and thundered down in a constant roar.
Yuanqi looked up. His eyelids twitched uncontrollably. Two characters were carved into the cliff face: Wu Wang[1]
The Mount Wu Wang he was familiar with was gone. Only Mount Wu Wang remained.
“Qin Yan Cave! Right! My Qin Yan Cave must still be here!” Yuanqi slithered down the slope in a hurry, making his way toward the cave.
Xu Ying followed after him. Soon, Yuanqi found his home. Pulses of dawn's light erupted from the cave entrance, radiating boundless vitality and dazzling splendor.
When Xu Ying arrived at the entrance, the light pulses touched him. The wounds on his chest that had already healed began to itch again. He scratched without thinking.
The more he scratched, the worse it became. He pulled open his collar and froze.
Several wounds marked his chest. Three deep claw marks exposed his ribs, left by the Rocky Mountain God that had nearly disemboweled him.
After bathing in dragon’s blood back at Homeward Pavilion, the wounds had healed, leaving harsh scars.
The scars on his chest looked like little red dragons, unsightly and bumpy to the touch. Now, they were fading.
Where the scars vanished, his skin matched the rest of his body. No trace of injury remained.
Qin Yan Cave contains boundless vitality; it’s no ordinary place! Xu Ying felt both astonished and doubtful. Was this really where the three generations of the Niu family had lived?
Yuanqi’s scars had also faded away, leaving no trace behind. He hadn’t expected such changes in Qin Yan Cave. Without a second thought, he rushed into the cave.
Xu Ying was worried something might happen to him, so he quickly followed.
Qin Yan Cave stretched more than ten li deep into the mountain. After the mountain’s change, it had expanded severalfold and grown far deeper.
As Xu Ying followed Yuanqi, he saw a lot of spirit grass growing on the walls, exuding a strange fragrance.
Parts of the wall looked newly formed, fresh, and untouched by time. Yet they had huge spirit pearls hanging on them, casting a faint glow that lit the path.
Xu Ying looked around and exclaimed in astonishment, “Your home is huge, Xiao Qi.”
As Yuanqi led the way, he saw that the cave was full of twists and turns, with steep precipices, stalactites, and jagged rocks everywhere.
There were caves within Qin Yan Cave, connected. Some sections lay underwater, forcing them to dive through to continue.
Carrying the great bell, Xu Ying swam alongside Yuanqi. Strange rocks nearby glowed with multicolored light. Massive stone walls stood around them, carved with unfamiliar characters. They couldn’t see the characters clearly due to the dim light, so they had no idea what was written.
Xu Ying was utterly astonished. Without Yuanqi leading the way, he would never have imagined another world beneath the water.
The Qin Yan Cave is so complicated. There’s no way our pursuers can find this place.
Thinking of this, Xu Ying laughed out loud. With the changes to Mount Wu Wang, the terrain had shifted beyond recognition. Even Yuanqi struggled to navigate it, let alone the government or the city god.
He thought, They probably don’t even know where Mount Wu Wang is.
As Yuanqi swam toward a stone wall, cracks appeared on it. A section of the wall collapsed. They swam through the area and emerged from the water. A white jade staircase stretched ahead.
Xu Ying followed Yuanqi onto it and saw a jade bridge lying across the water, extending forward.
Yuanqi finally breathed a sigh of relief. He muttered, “My home is still here. My home is still here...”
Xu Ying stepped on the white jade bridge with Yuanqi leading the way. After an unknown distance, the water surface ahead brightened and widened. A corridor bridge crossed the surface, leading to a palace carved from white jade.
Yuanqi smiled. “This is where I cultivate. Without me leading the way, no one can ever find this place!”
Xu Ying looked around, speechless. Who could have imagined that such a magnificent palace was hidden within this cave?
The vitality here was even denser. With each breath, his cultivation stirred. It was like an immortal mountain, a blessed land!
Suddenly, Xu Ying halted his steps. He stared fixedly ahead, his heart beating violently.
At the center of the jade palace lay a pitch-black coffin.
A short distance away from the coffin was a young girl with her back to them, looking up at the towering jade wall before her.
Xu Ying lowered his voice to a whisper and backed away stealthily. “Xiao Qi, didn’t you say no one would find this place without you guiding them?”
Yuanqi also saw the black coffin and retreated. He whispered bitterly, “My family has lived here for three centuries. No one has come before. Who knows how that female ghost got in?”
The changes to Mount Wu Wang had already driven him crazy. Now, even his home had been invaded.
The “female ghost” was the girl from the coffin beneath the ancient well at the abandoned temple. The coffin in the palace was that same black coffin.
Xu Ying could never forget the night the Hell River changed course. He would never make that mistake.
He remembered the eye in the well controlling them, involuntarily pulling the chain, and the bloody water bubbling in the well.
He also remembered the young girl sitting at the mouth of the well, combing her hair.
She injured the great bell! Xu Ying suddenly recalled. The girl had been suppressed beneath the well for countless years. Her enmity with the bell ran too deep to reconcile.
And now, he was carrying it.
Xu Ying immediately threw the great bell off the bridge.
Gong.
The bronze bell fell into the water.
Inside the white jade palace, the coffin girl was startled by the echo. She looked back. Her beautiful appearance caused Xu Ying’s eyes to light up, and his breath hitched.
The coffin girl seemed to recognize him and was slightly taken aback, as if wondering how he found his way here. Then her interest faded. She turned back to the jade wall.
Xu Ying continued backing off. The great bell floated on the water’s surface like wood. Wherever Xu Ying went, it followed.
His scalp went numb. He called out in his mind, “Sink! Master Zhong, quickly sink!”
The great bell seemed to be acting out of spite. It floated steadily on the water’s surface, refusing to sink, as if it were going to drag Xu Ying down with it.
A faint sigh drifted out from within the white jade palace. A soft, beautiful voice echoed through the grotto residence, tranquil and mysterious, as elegant as an orchid blooming in a secluded valley.
“South of Xiao and Xiang rivers, the Abyss of Cangwu. Beneath Mount Jiuyi, the Ageless Immortal. This place of ascension has ultimately fallen into ruin.”
The young girl in the white jade palace murmured, “Not even someone as powerful as you can escape the cycle of life? Even your grotto residence became a haven for demons and spirits?”
The great bell trembled slightly, then slowly sank to the bottom.
1. These two names sound identical but carry very different meanings. The original name sounds more like a proper geographical name or a name associated with a specific clan/person. The new name is more mystical or philosophical, often associated with the I Ching (Book of Changes). It literally means Mountain of No Falsehood. ☜
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